


Early Spring

by Dangerously_Demonic



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Them Feels, Thirty Minute Wonder, Writing Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 02:07:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12159420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dangerously_Demonic/pseuds/Dangerously_Demonic
Summary: In the early spring, the dragon knew the meaning of hope.





	Early Spring

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the end result of a quick thing I wrote for a forum contest. I tied for first.

The dragon had seen many wars over his lifetime. Many had been petty squabbles between neighboring kingdoms, but very few had involved the different races of the land. What had started out as a simple misunderstanding had exploded into a magical war that had engulfed the land.The elves had apparently gotten tired of it all and their mages had pulled out the more devastating spells. Certainly, they won the war, but at the cost of obliterating nearly all the life in the lands.

What had once been vibrant forests brimming with every odd creature imaginable became the charred skeletons of the trees that had existed there. Idyllic golden meadows, home to the type of stags that kings only wished to hang in their trophy rooms, became ashen wastelands. Suffice to say, life simply ceased to exist.

Except for him.

Dragons were naturally resistant to magic, and this was only magnified by his age. However, in an instance such as this, he somewhat wished that he had been a much younger dragon. Despite months of searching, he had found no other instance of life and had begun to wonder if he was the only one left.

These thoughts were pervasive since, after all, he hadn'’t seen another living thing for months. In his travels, he had reached the ocean in one instance, but chose not to attempt a crossing. That would be foolish since he wasn'’t capable of flying for days at a time. Still, he couldn'’t help but wonder if he was the only one left and so his search continued.

Winter arrived quietly that year, blanketing the land in white. It was a nice change to the monochrome grey the world had become, but the snow made the silence almost overwhelming. Despite the time that had gone by, he had yet to find life in this seemingly dead world. With each passing day, the thought of trying to cross the ocean grew more tempting.

One morning, he was woken by the rhythmic sound of dripping water. It was a sure sign that winter was releasing its grip on the lands and relinquishing control to spring. After a bit of time spent choosing to ignore the outside world, he got up and trudged out of the woodland cave he called home. For a moment, he was dumbfounded by the sight in front of him.

Small slivers of green poked up through the snow.

Not just a handful, but hundreds. Thousands, even. Gently,he pushed away some of the melting snow and was greeted by hair thin blades of grass. Carefully he moved on, trying not to disturb the new growth. The meadow was nearly melted when he finally reached it, and it too, was covered in a fine carpet of green.

There was a soft, high pitched whine of some flying insect by his head and his tossed his head slightly out of reflex. Wait, insect? This would mean that the magic had only destroyed what was on the surface, and not under the ground. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was hope for life yet.


End file.
